Negative Effects of Coffee Is it bad for You?

What are the Negative Effects of Coffee?

Coffee does have a lot of health benefits, however coffee also has some side effects. There are quite a few reasons why coffee might be bad for you. The main question is, do the positives out weight the negatives?

Negative Effects of Coffee

Acquired Taste

Coffee has a very strong taste! Some people love it, but most don’t. Even people who love coffee only “love” it because they put so much sugar and other stuff to it to make it palatable. Places like starbucks or Biggby really make their coffee just awful. Some starbucks lattes have over 800 calories! That’s actually way worse than soda pop! So if you can’t stomach the taste then just don’t drink it.

My husband actually hates the taste so much even the smell makes his stomach upset. Now the strong taste is actually an effect of the positives in coffee, but if you can’t stomach it then it doesn’t really matter how good it is for you.

Insomnia

Sleep is extremely important to our health. Drinking coffee in excess can cause severe problems with falling and/or staying asleep. A recent (and personal experience) found that drinking coffee within about 6 hours of going to sleep was linked to significantly worse sleep at night. This lack of sleep could impact your mood and well-being especially over a longer period. This is why coffee is mostly a morning and two’o’clock feeling drink.

Restlessness

Coffee can also cause you to feel like your skin is crawling – it’s not! It’s just a very uncomfortable feeling, it’s rather hard to explain but if you’ve had it then you know what I’m talking about. It’s a lot like restless leg syndrome except caused by drinking too much coffee.

Upset Stomach and Nausea

Coffee is a very rich drink. The bean itself is very dense. We drink coffee as opposed to eating it because we have to water it down some to reduce the effects of vomiting. For many people coffee is so rich and has such a strong taste it can cause upset stomach and/or nausea and even vomiting. Vomiting is usually for first timers or extremely casual drinkers. Drinking more coffee will allow your body to become more accustomed to it and these effects will subside.

Coffee Can Raise Your Cholesterol

Unfiltered coffee can raise your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and can also raise your triglyceries which is blood fat. With these levels rising the chance for heart disease rises as well. However, this affect is noted only in filtered coffee, generally coffee people drink is filtered so this shouldn’t be something to worry about – but it is noteworthy.

Diarrhea

The caffeine in coffee can cause diarrhea and/or make it worse. Coffee isn’t recommended if you are sensitive or are prone to getting diarrhea. I’m sure you know, but diarrhea is extremely unpleasant!

Thinning Bones

The caffeine in coffee can potentially cause calcium stripping – especially at higher doses. The calcium is stripped from the bones and is flushed out in your urine. This causes bone density to thin; those suffering from osteoporosis should limit their caffeine intake to less than 300mg a day. This is about 2 cups of coffee, also it is recommended to take a calcium supplement as well, this may make up for the calcium stripping.

Pregnancy and Potential Miscarriage

If you’re pregnant then listen up, coffee appears to be ok if you drink a cup or two, but studies have shown that more than 2 cups a day may lead to a miscarriage, an early birth or even low birth weight of newborns. So drink carefully. Again coffee appears safe for pregnant women in moderate doses.

Not Child Friendly

The negative effects of coffee are usually more severe in children and occur in less doses than in adults. Coffee is not something recommended for kids. Of course, I don’t know any kids who would actually drink it – it’s always been considered an adult drink as far as I can tell.

Overall there are potential side effects to drinking coffee, but this is true with everything as well. Also to note, most of the side effects of coffee come from the caffeine, however I do not recommend taking decaf coffee because of the process they go to to get rid of it. It screams extremely unhealthy to me! So the coffee itself is actually pretty remarkable, most of the ill effects are just from the caffeine! Overall I think coffee is a great early morning drink to kick off your day in high gear!

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About Me

Welcome to The Fitness Junkie, a health, wellness, and lifestyle blog. I’m Sophie and I am a runner, blogger, traveler and fitness addict! I love sharing my passion for nutrition and healthy living with my readers. I believe that healthy living encompasses all areas of our lives (body, mind, and soul). My hope is to inspire women to get fit, add balance to their lives, and stop obsessing over their bodies. Life is about discovering what makes you happy, being real & loving yourself inside and out.